Things in the house have progressed so far that moving in finally feels real. All the walls are painted and the last rooms now have parquet flooring installed. For the first time, it truly feels like a home instead of a construction site.
The Bathroom Vision Came to Life
Interior work moved on to tiling. In the downstairs bathroom, we installed black and white mosaic tiles. Of course, I had a very specific vision. I wanted the edges to be black and the center to be white, which meant buying two different types of tiles. One black, one white.
In my mind, the bathroom walls would have a black frame running around them. That also meant black grout between the black tiles and white grout between the white ones. My tiler was not particularly thrilled with all these detailed instructions, but I am extremely happy with the result. Sometimes you just have to stand your ground.
The painter finished the bathroom walls as well. The lower half will eventually have picture frame moulding, so that part was left white. The upper half was painted a deep dark blue. I wanted the space to feel moody.
At first, though, I could not figure out what was bothering me. Eventually I realized it is not really the color. It is the finish. It is not fully matte, and the slight sheen takes away that soft, velvety feeling I was hoping for. Since our painter is currently on vacation, I will not have it redone just yet. I will repaint it myself one day when I know exactly what needs adjusting.
A Mudroom That Can Handle Real Life
The mudroom also got tiles, this time with a lovely pattern. In the middle of the floor, we installed a large grated drain so water can run off if there is ever a pipe leak or if we need to wash muddy floors with lots of water. With three small kids, planning for messes is not optional. It is survival.
The Door Dilemma
I knew from the beginning that cheap hollow core doors would not suit this house. I wanted paneled wooden doors that feel timeless and solid. The problem is that proper wooden doors are very expensive, and we have worked hard to keep overall costs down.
So I had an idea. What if we found affordable pine doors with the right profile and painted them?
Add beautiful handles and suddenly you get that historical house feeling without the historical house price tag.
Finding the right doors took time because I really wanted them to be affordable. Eventually I found a profile I loved, and the price was at least five to ten times cheaper than oak or other high quality solid wood options.
Then came the next surprise. We asked for painting quotes and discovered that painting one door would cost almost three times the price of the door itself. That would completely cancel out our savings. So there was only one logical solution. We would paint them ourselves.
I did plenty of research to make sure we would get a professional result and prevent knots from bleeding through the paint.
First, we sealed the knots with a special knotting lacquer to block the resin. Then we filled all cracks, holes, and imperfections with wood filler and sanded everything smooth. After the first coat of primer, new flaws became visible. So we filled and sanded again.
There are 13 doors in total, and each one had to be worked on from both sides. It took time. A lot of time.
Finally, we sprayed two coats of paint using a paint sprayer. In my opinion, the doors turned out beautiful. Solid, classic, and exactly what I envisioned.
Fireplace Progress and Exterior Details
The stove finally received its final plaster layer. The fireplace door was installed, and we added a white concrete slab on top that we made ourselves. Now it is waiting for decorative mouldings and a proper mantel, which I plan to build after we have moved in.
It was also exciting to see the balcony railings installed. The house keeps getting prettier on the outside. We are still missing the concrete caps for the railing posts, but those will come in time.
A Princess Room in Progress
Now that all the walls are painted and the painter has left the site, it is officially my turn to make a mess.
I wanted to create dotted walls in my little princess’s room. I could not find any wallpaper I truly loved. Also, with kids, painted walls are simply more practical. You can wash them. You can repaint them. Wallpaper is much more complicated.
I found the perfect stencil and the project began. The kids and I spent a long evening together. I painted dots on the wall while they tried to entertain themselves on a blanket on the floor. The result is absolutely lovely.
Oiling the Floors and Feeling the Shift
With all the parquet installed, it was time to oil the floors. That required serious cleaning. The entire house had to be dust free. Even the staircase to the second floor was temporarily removed.
Once the oil was applied, the floors immediately became lighter and richer. Right now, the house feels like moving day is just around the corner.
The Plan for Moving In
Our goal is to move in once at least one bathroom is fully functional. We still need to install recessed lights, sockets, and switches. Decorative light fixtures will come later, and we will install those ourselves.
We are also postponing the installation of floor, wall, and ceiling mouldings. Those will be our own projects as well. There is still plenty of work ahead and many projects waiting for us, but honestly, maybe it is better that way. Life would probably get boring otherwise.
Most likely, we will move in before the real staircase and kitchen are ready. Both have been ordered, but due to various delays the timeline has stretched longer than expected. We do not want to delay the move any further because every extra month living elsewhere wastes resources.
With three small children at home, we obviously need some kind of cooking solution. Right now we are looking into whether we can buy or borrow an old kitchen setup to get us through the first phase.
Moving day is very close now, and with spring arriving, the excitement is real. After all these months of planning, building, sanding, painting, and dreaming, we are almost home.
